Mothers & More Pasadena Chapter #252

Meetings & Events

The Mothers & More Pasadena meetings are a core service of the chapter. Meeting topics are designed to address the many aspects of ourselves as people, not just as mothers. The topics fall into one of four categories: Personal Growth, Professional Growth, Consciousness Raising, and Mothers as Mothers. The meetings often include guest speakers or open discussion, and are facilitated by Mothers & More members.

ON-GOING EVENTS

Book Club: Meets the second Tuesday evening of the month. Playgroups: Meet monthly at a local park. Work In Progress: A mom’s career and project development support group.  Informal get-togethers where the conversation focuses on career planning, transitions to paid work, and challenges or opportunities with current employment. Meets monthly for coffee or lunch.

MEETINGS:  January - July 2008   Meetings held at: Whole Foods Market 465 S. Arroyo Parkway  Pasadena, CA  91105 in the Conference Room adjacent to the parking lot at 7:30 p.m.

January 3 — WOW and Chat-in-the-Hat This evening will feature a Work-on-Whatever (WOW) and Chat-in-the-Hat. Bring a small project that you want to work on—addressing envelopes, scrapbooking, paying bills, knitting—and sit with friends while discussing interesting questions that we pick out of a hat. It will be a relaxing, fun, and productive time!   January 17 - Making the Most (and More!) of Your Income We live in a city where the cost of living is almost twice the national average!  Originally, “Living on Less Than Two Incomes,” this meeting promises to have something for everyone, from fully employed to stay at home moms.  Come hear a panel of members reveal their money-making ideas and household management tips.  Bring your own ideas and suggestions to share!  Led by Felita K. (Financial Literacy)   February 7 - Create a Vision Board How have your New Year’s resolutions been treating you?  Do they need a bit of refreshing?  Join us as we each create our own personal Vision Boards – a powerful representation of the passion behind your objectives.  Through a combination of guided meditation and collage art (yes, we get to play with scissors and glue and whatnot) you will discover the emotional fuel needed to propel you toward your dreams for 2008.  Your Vision Board will give you daily inspiration to help move those dreams into reality.  Materials needed:  bring 3 or 4 magazines to cut up.  Led by Beverly B. (Personal Identity)   February 21 - Choosing the Right School for Your Child Guest Speaker Nicole Murray will share with us her strategies for finding a school that’s the right fit for your child.  More details to follow.  Let by Felita K.   March 6 - Winter Drive and Mom's Night Out Mothers and More’s 20th Birthday festivities continue with the Winter Drive!  As the only organization that encourages mothers to make connections with each other as well as with our “other than mother” selves, this meeting is the perfect time to reflect on why Mothers and More has been the voice for mothers for 20 years, and reaffirm why our chapter is so important to us. Share your stories and help us capture what makes Mothers and More so unique.  Then join us at a nearby restaurant for some post-meeting food and fun!   March 20 - Making Work from Home Work for You Susan Gerke, an expert on telecommuting, remote leadership and work, will come to share with us a variety of strategies for effectively working from home and telecommuting. She'll share with us tips on how we can negotiate remote work with employers, manage their concerns about having remote employees and how to work most effectively from home via computers. Whether you are in the workforce now or just considering your options, don't miss this opportunity to learn valuable professional skills from this renowned Southern California expert in this growing field.  Led by Kim T. (Career Path/Paid/Volunteer Work)   April 3 - Elementary School - Navigation Techniques They made it!  Our children are in elementary school now...or is it us?  Seems like there’s a lot to manage what with homework, social issues, PTA, classroom rules – just to name a few.  And what about the changes we moms experience as our kids grow?  How do we keep up…both emotionally and physically? Come join us in conversation - bring your questions, your experiences, your solutions.  Through a loosely guided conversation, we’ll share our adventures and gain some insight on navigating this next step in our lives.  All are welcome.  Led by Beverly B. (Personal Relationships)   April 17 - Sneak Peek! Chapter member and past Mothers & More President Kristin Maschka will share a sneak peek at the book she's writing for mothers that is slated to be released in spring 2009. Kristin will be in the home stretch of writing the manuscript so she will share some tidbits and ask for feedback from the real experts - mothers! More detail to come as the meeting gets closer.  Led by Kristin M. (Personal Identity/Relationships)   May 1 - Mother's Day Event Our meeting will be based on the Mother’s Day campaign theme chosen by Mothers & More national headquarters.  Details TBD.   May 15 - Mom's Night Out Join us for a fun and relaxing night “off!”  More details to follow.      June 5 - Programming Meeting Join us as we plan our meetings for the next six months.  Bring your ideas and let your voice be heard!  Led by Emily D.   June 19 - Anniversary Dinner We will celebrate our chapter’s anniversary with a fun dinner out. Details TBD.   July 3 - Yours, Mine, and Ours: The Psychology of Money How many times have issues of money caused tension in your household??  The addition of children to a family means major changes in how money is earned, spent, and/or saved.  Come discuss with other mothers how they’ve handled some of these changes as well as how it’s affected their family dynamic.  (Financial Literacy)   July 17 - Local Air Pollution and Our Children's Health: How Concerned Should We Be? The LA air basin has one of the worst levels of air pollution in the country. Come learn what the most recent local research has to say about air pollution trends, important local sources, and the association between air pollution and asthma rates, lung function development and children’s sports. We will also discuss potential steps to consider to protect your children’s health while growing up in the LA air basin.  Led by Carrie B.